Attitude is everything
by NewYorkGreen8
Summary: Hayden Taylor had the perfect life back in Connecticut, until her mother decided for them to move to La Push to live with her mother's college sweetheart. Being the new girl who's always found a way to stand out, she does just that and catches the attention of Seth Clearwater. As complications from her Connecticut life come forward, how will the pack react? OC story.
1. First Day

**Sorry it took a while to upload the first chapter , but here it is!**

_1 2 3, breathe. Ignore the rain. 1 2 3, breath._

Hayden's brain was like a frazzled end of string as she jogged along the shoreline. The rain pounded down on her red t-shirt and bare arms as she contininued jogging, determined to power through the rain considering she'd be forced to adjust to it somehow. She recalled her 'discussion' with her mother, regarding the amount of rain in their new town.

_"Mom, do you have any idea how much it rains in La Push? How am I going to run?"_ she had whined to her mother during the car ride. _"You're going to run just as you would back home." _her mother had calmly replied, eyes never once faltering from their set on the road.

And so here Hayden Taylor was, running just as she would back home in their quaint little neighborhood. Soon enough the ocean came to an end and was replaced by the treeline, causing Hayden to slow to a walk and change direction towards her new home. She sneered in disgust as the house came into view, the tattered white shutters opened despite the rain. Unwillingly, she dragged herself up the worn front steps and across the deck. The screen door in front of her was coated in dust, quite obviously ignored by it's owner- another reason for Hayden to hate her mother's boyfriend. "Making me move to the middle of nowhere, bastard." Hayden mumbled under her breath, turning the knob and stepping into the warm house. The aroma of her mother's pumpkin spice candles hit her nose and soon her mother came into view, a disgruntled mess of herself from the moving-in-process. "Hi Ave!" her mother's bright smile welcomed her in, a small grin playing on her own lips. "Hi ma," she was at a loss of words for her mother, her bitter attitude of the move returning. Without more words, Hayden navigated her way through the house, up the stairs, and down the hallway to her designated bedroom.

_"Rick was so excited that you were going to be here!" _her mother had gushed. _"He said that he's always wanted a daughter, and now here you are," _Hayden had stopped her mother there, _"I'm __**not **__his daughter." _she snapped. _"Well you know what I mean! He's been so excited that you were coming, he had some of the boys from the neighborhood come in and paint your room. Wasn't that so nice?" _she had just nodded and mumbled in reply.

As she stepped into the room now, she almost felt guily for being so rude about her room being painted for her. The walls were a light blue with pale wainscoting partially up the wall, complementing the pale wooden bedframe that sat against the far side of the room with her matress already set in. Her boxes were scattered around the room, various lables on each one indicating what it contained. Hayden released a sigh, pursing her lips as she began unpacking.

Hours passed as Hayden and her mother, Andrea, diligently unpacked. It was six when Andrea called up the stairs to her daughter, the sixteen year old gradually making her way down, the bottom of her sweatpants catching underneath her feet. "What?" Hayden looked up to meet her mother's eyes, suddenly taking in her surroundings. Three men stood in the kitchen along side her mother and Rick, their height exceeding Rick's 5' 11" stature tenfold, their muscles buldging with their lacking of shirts. Hayden's eyebrow cocked, as she looked back to her mother for an explination. "Hayden, these are the young men who painted your room." Andrea explained, beaming. Slowly, Hayden nodded, her eyes scanning over each one of them.

Silence seemed to fill the room and finally one of them cleared his throat uncomfortably, "I'm Jacob Black." He offered a friendly smile and his hand out to Hayden, the much smaller girl hesitantly shaking his hand, "Hayden." The remaining two followed suit in intruducing themselves. "Paul Lahote." He smirked as he shook her hand, resulting in Hayden raising her eyebrows and releasing a small laugh. The last one to shake her hand was quite obviously the oldest of the three, worry lines painting his face, "I'm Sam Uley." his voice sent a feeling of power throughout the room, even Andrea being able to sense it.

As the following morning came, Hayden's heart was racing a million miles per hour as she ransacked her freshly filled closet. "Hayden Avery, I can hear your pacing from downstairs, please calm down." Andrea slowly opened the bedroom door, slipping in and on to the bed. She watched her daughter file through the hangers, briefly stopping at one before flying to another. "Have you even thought about what's going to happen today, mom?" for a moment, Hayden stopped what she was doing and faced her mother.

The two were practically identical, fair skin, prominent cheekbones, botton noses, large gray eyes with long eyelashes - their only difference was Hayden's long blonde hair as compared to her mother's dark short hair.

"You'll be fine. Just blend." Andrea shrugged as if it were nothing, quite obviously it being something to Hayden. "Blend in?" she snorted out and shook her head, "Not going to happen." she sighed as she began again with her closet raid. Knowing that she could be of no help, Andrea slipped out just as she had in. Twenty minutes passed before Hayden settled for jeans, a blue sweater accompanied by a cream colored scarf and cream boat shoes. She threw her hair into a loose bun and put on her glasses before grabbing her messanger bag and venturing downstairs. "Morning kiddo!" Rick smiled, offering an apple to Hayden. She eyed the apple, contemplating whether or not to take it. Looking at Rick's genuinly kind face, she sighed and took it, pulling together a thin smile, "Thanks." This seemed to please Rick, which was enough to keep her mother happy for a while. "I'm just going to walk to school, get to know the place." Hayden threw open the door and began outwards. Before the door could close, her mother was calling out a "Good luck!" and Rick contributed a "Have fun." Hayden rolled her eyes behind the closed door and set off down the puddle covered road.

The walk to La Push High was no trouble and soon enough Hayden stood before the strange school as Natives pushed by her. She received multiple stares from strangers and she walked inside and made her way to the office. For the brief moment that her back was turned, she could feel the eyes boring into the back of her head. Staring at the schedule before her, Hayden made her way to her assigned locker and twisted in the combination. This routine was nothing new for her, only the staring made her feel out of sorts. It was only when Hayden spotted a semi- familiar face that she felt any amount of closure. Not far down the hall stood one of the three that she had met the prior day, Jacob Black. Him being the only person that even looked remotely friendly, she quickly hurried down the hall to where he stood. With the assistance of her new found friend, Hayden went through the day with no problem- excluding the increasing stares she was receiving for being seen with one of the "hall monitors on steroids" as she had learned Jacob and his friends were called.

The final bell of the day rang and the parking lot became flooded with teenagers, making it nearly impossible to even get out of the building. To her rescue, Jacob greeted Hayden at her locker with her regular smile. "How was your first day?" she shrugged, smiling softly, "It wasn't half as bad as I thought it'd be."

As the duo made it outside, Jacob led Hayden to where his friends had gathered around three pickup trucks. Hayden recognized Paul in the group, with his arm firmly wrapped around a small girl's waist. With the exception of Paul and Jacob, Hayden knew absolutely nobody in the large group. She slowed her pace as Jacob led her closer to them all, suddenly becoming self concious and feeling the need to run home. "Hayden, come on, I want you to meet my friends." Jacob turned to her and smiled, pulling her with him.

His group of friends consisted of five boys who resembled him greatly, as well as two other girls. "Jake! Who's your friend?" one of the boys bounded towards them, his entire face lit up with a bright smile. Without the slightest showing of shyness, the boy threw his hand into Hayden's and shook it, "Hey, I'm Quil Ateara." He smiled once more and waited for Hayden to introduce herself as well. "I'm Hayden Taylor." she returned the smile and all attention of the group suddenly turned to her. Hayden could feel her cheeks grow hot from all attention being on her, her heart rate increasing.

Jacob jumped on the moment of silence as he had the night before and began introducing everyone to Hayden. "This is Embry Call, and his imp- girlfriend Selene Spears, Jared Cameron, you already know Paul, his girlfriend Katherine Hale, Quil Ateara, and Seth Clearwater." She offered a small smile to each of them as their name was called and they were pointed out, her blush creeping up on her once more due to the amount of attention that was on her. Beginning to feel clausterphobic, Hayden began to back up, "Well, I'm walking so I better start off. It was very nice meeting all of you!" Before she could continue any further though, Jacob reached out his arm, stopping her. "You don't need to walk home. One of us can drive you!" he glanced back towards the boy who he had introduced as Seth and smirked, "Seth can bring you, his truck is empty." Jared's eyes shot up in protest, Jacob waving his hand at him.

Hayden contemplated whether or not to go with Seth, considering the fact that she had just met him, but if he was friends with Jacob he couldn't be so bad. She pursed her lips and shrugged, silently agreeing. Seth's face lit up as he fumbled over his own feet to race towards the passenger side door. He smiled at Hayden as he gestured to the now open car door, waiting for her to walk over. She took a deep breath before hopping into the truck, never expecting what the ride home would ensue.


	2. Befriending The Imprints

Hayden watched Seth carefully from the corner of her eye, taking in all of his features. He looked considerably younger than Paul and Jacob, yet his body was still just as developed and toned as theirs. She was fully aware of him watching her back, yet she wasn't bothered by it at all. She felt safe under his watchful eye.

"You live just up there don't you?" Seth asked, breaking the silence. "M'hm, my mom and I just moved in with her boyfriend." Hayden nodded, pursing her lips. "Were you one of the guys that helped paint my room?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Seth nodded and smiled at her, "That I was. Do you like it?" Hayden nodded quickly and smiled, making Seth's heart race.

He pulled into the pebble-filled driveway, disappointment falling upon his face as Hayden gathered her things to leave. "Thank you for the ride home." She smiled at him sweetly, once again increasing his heart rate. "You're welcome! Want a ride to school tomorrow morning?" Hayden thought for a moment, shrugging, "Thank you, but no thanks." She closed the truck door and smiled over her shoulder to Seth as she walked up the front steps. Seth remained in the driveway until Hayden entered the house and the door was shut, he even lingered for a while after that, taking in the house.

Sighing, Seth pulled out and began down the road towards Sam's house, thoughts of Hayden occupying his brain.

"Mom, I'm home." Hayden called out, heading upstairs to drop her book bag just inside her bedroom door. "In the kitchen, Ave." Her mother replied. Hayden made her way back to the kitchen, taking a seat at the small table and watching her mother wash the counter. "How was your first day sweetie?" Andrea stopped what she was doing to face her daughter, placing the rag beside her and leaning against the countertop. Hayden grinned, shrugging, "It was pretty good. Jacob helped me out a lot, and one of his friends gave me a ride home." She explained. "Which friend?" Andrea cocked an eyebrow, shifting her weight from one arm to the other. "Seth Clearwater." A smile formed on Andrea's lips, obviously pleased with Hayden's answer. "Rick was good friends with his father before he passed." Hayden's eyes widened slightly, surprised by that.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Seth pulled up in front of Sam's house, already able to hear the booming voices from inside the house. He threw open the door, eager to be with his pack brothers.

"How was the ride home?" Quil asked, his large smile present as always. Just the thought of being with Hayden brought a smile to Seth's young face, "It was good. I offered to bring her to school tomorrow, but she turned me down." His face dropped just saying this.

The pack and imprints listened closely, the room falling silent after a moment. "I could try and have Hayden sit with us at lunch tomorrow, if you'd like?" Selene finally spoke, Embry smiling adorningly at her, wrapping an arm around her waist. Seth's eyes brightened, nodding quickly. "I could talk to her in P.E. tomorrow, too?" Katherine piped in, adding to Seth's excitement. "Thank you so much!" Seth beamed, the chatter in the kitchen beginning once more.

~.~.~.~.~.~

The sun rose the following morning, rain pounding down on the roof. Hayden groaned as her feet hit the floor, taking notice to the pouring rain outside her window. "Why would I turn down a ride to school?" she grumbled, padding towards her closet. After turning on her straightener and pulling out an outfit she began on her makeup.

A light knock on the door paused Hayden from straightening her hair as the door slowly opened. Rick stood in the doorway, a cautious look on his face. "Would you like breakfast?" he asked, his kindness catching Hayden off guard. She hesitated before shrugging, "Just a bagel would be fine." Rick nodded and smiled at her, receiving no response as she returned to her hair, pinning back a small section. The door closed and Rick was gone.

Hayden begrudgingly made her way downstairs, accepting the toasted bagel from Rick and standing before the front door, dreading her walk to school. She sighed, just as a familiar blue pickup truck pulled into the driveway. Raising an eyebrow, she opened the door and rushed down the step towards the vehicle. One of the back doors was pushed open and Hayden quickly hopped in, non-other than Seth sitting in the driver's seat.

"I told you I didn't need a ride to school." Hayden quickly caught her breath, facing Seth. "I know." Seth grinned, Hayden's visible irritation increasing. Someone beside her released a chuckle, her attention snapping to them. It was the one who had been introduced as Quil, the one with the constant grin on his face. Hayden sighed in defeat, pulling the seat belt across herself and sinking into the seat. Seth smiled at his imprint before pulling out and beginning towards the school. Hayden remained silent the whole car ride, her arms crossed and eyes set on the greenery out her window.

Before the truck had even come to a complete stop, Hayden leapt out her door and began rushing into the school. Panic filled Seth's chest as he began to lose sight of Hayden in the crowd, throwing himself out of the truck and racing after her. He caught up to her easily, his breathing quickly turning back to normal in comfort. "Why'd you run?" Seth asked, studying Hayden's profile. She shrugged, continuing forward.

The day progressed as usual, but when P.E came, Hayden inwardly groaned. She entered the gym, cringing at the poorly lit facility. She leaned against the padded wall, awaiting their gym teacher to arrive. A small redhead approached her, a timid smile on her small face. "I'm Katherine." She fumbled for words, her green eyes scanning the room. Hayden nodded, offering a thin grin, "I remember. You're Paul's girlfriend." Katherine nodded, pleased that Hayden remembered her. "Where is the teacher anyway? Shouldn't I be learning physical education right now?" Hayden complained to Katherine, the small girl giggling. "It's fine with me if he doesn't show up." Hayden shrugged in agreement, the two falling silent.

After ten minutes of waiting, the middle-aged man showed up, clad in an ugly green tracksuit. He announced the class would be playing a volleyball game the whole gym class, Katherine groaning beside Hayden. Hayden chuckled, turning to her, "I'm guessing you don't like volleyball?" Katherine mad a face of distaste, shaking her head, "I don't like P.E, period. I dance, and do martial arts. That's enough physical activity for me." Hayden chuckled once more as the two made their way across the court.

To Katherine's delight, gym class flew by and soon she and Hayden parted, heading to their designated classes.

Hayden took her seat in English, a class she actually enjoyed. More students filed into the classroom, the seat beside her being quickly occupied. The girl who sat down flipped her dark curls behind her and straightened out her striped shirt before turning to Hayden and smiling a perfect smile, "Hi Hayden." Hayden returned the smile to Selene, "Hi Selene." Selene cut to the point quickly, laying her arms across her desk before asking, "Do you want to sit with me and the guys at lunch?" This took Hayden by surprise, the blonde hesitating before shrugging, "Sure." Selene smiled in accomplishment as the bell rang, class beginning.

Class ended, signaling lunch was next. Selene waited as Hayden gathered her things before the two walked out of the classroom. Large arms engulfed Selene as she stepped into the hallway, Embry being the culprit. She giggled in his arms as he planted a sweet kiss on her cheek. The two remained smiling at each other for a moment before turning their attention to Hayden, Embry's arms still tightly around Selene.

"You're sitting with us at lunch, right?" Embry asked, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. Hayden nodded as she followed the two down the long hallway to the cafeteria.

The noise bubbling from the cafeteria increased as Embry pulled open the doors with his free hand, the other laced with Selene's. Embry led Hayden and Selene to a table partially filled with everyone Hayden had met the prior day. Selene and Embry took seats beside each other immediately, leaving Hayden the seat beside Seth and Jacob. As Hayden sat down, Seth watched her carefully with a gentle smile on his lips, and in that moment Hayden felt oddly at home.


	3. Who're You Going With?

Hayden's next two classes passed quickly, the end of the day creeping up. Her last class-Art- beginning. She had always hated art, lacking creativity and artistic ability in every aspect possible. The blonde sighed as she sat at a table in the back of the room, hoping nobody would notice her. She wasn't that lucky, though. People had always noticed her, ever since fifth grade when she had gotten her braces on, increasing in eighth grade when the braces had come off.

A boy walked into the class room, glimmering green eyes and softly tousled brown locks. He smirked as he made his way across the room, eyes set on Hayden. She cocked an eyebrow, examining him over. She pursed her lips as she realized that back at her old school, she would have fallen for him in an instant. Something stopped her though from even being mildly attracted to him.

As he finally approached her table, Hayden raised her eyebrows, gaining an even larger smirk from him. "Can I help you?" Hayden snapped, quickly losing her patience as he simply stood there. As more teenagers filed into the classroom, more began to watch the scene that was starting. "Why, I was just wondering why I've never seen your beautiful face before." He winked at her, something he obviously did quite frequently as he was very good at it. "Second day here. Can you leave now?" Hayden's frustration was increasing at a fast rate. Instead, he sat down across from her and smiled, "I'm Carter Hoy. It's a pleasure to meet you. And you are?" Hayden rolled her eyes at him before placing a sickly sweet smile on her lips and staring daggers straight into his eyes, "I'm Hayden, the girl who couldn't care less who the hell you are." This caught Carter off guard as a mixture of emotions crossed his face, hastily raising from his seat and crossing the room to another open chair.

Class began, Hayden's hard features slowly softening back to normal. The final bell rang and Hayden flew from her seat out the door, hurrying to her locker. It then dawned on her that she had ridden with Seth, and after her bitter attitude towards him that same morning she wondered if he'd even consider giving her a ride home as well. She sighed and a pang of guilt hit her chest, pinching slightly.

Approaching her locker, a wave of calmness set over Hayden as she looked up to see non-other-than Seth himself leaning against the cold metal door. His entire face lit up the moment she came into view, a large smile spreading across his lips. Hayden easily let a smile form as well, this small act making Seth appear even happier than before- if possible.

"Hi Hayden." Seth pushed himself off of her locker and she went to twist in the combination, still wearing his smile. "Hi Seth, what're you doing here?" Hayden mindlessly asked, tossing her books in the locker and closing it. She leaned against it, waiting for Seth's reply and she nonchalantly began studying him once more. "Waiting to give you a ride home, of course." Seth shrugged as if it were an obvious part of life, something that he always did. Hayden hesitantly nodded, beginning to wander towards the door, Seth joining her quickly. "You don't have to. Give me rides, I mean." Hayden mumbled, feeling like she was using Seth. He quickly shook his head, showing Hayden a cheeky grin and revealing a small dimple on the ride side of his mouth, "I like giving you rides. I like being around you. I'd love to spend all my time with you." Hayden was taken off guard by something that sweet, suppressing a deep blush that was threatening to show through.

The brief ride home was comfortably quiet, Hayden still trying to take in what Seth had said to her, while Seth was simply delighted to be in Hayden's presence. He pulled into the gravel driveway, sighing once more as he realized she'd be leaving. "Thank you very much for the ride, Seth." The way that his name slid off her tongue so easily amazed Seth, thinking about how easily he said her name as well. "You're very welcome," he grinned, "May I give you a ride tomorrow, too?" Hayden smiled, nodding as she grabbed her things from the seat and threw open the door, delicately hopping out.

"Hayden?" Seth asked, the blonde re-opening the partially closed door, facing Seth, "Yes?" She tilted her head to the side slightly, a little quirk that Seth had found to be adorable. "I need to find a nickname for you." Hayden laughed at his silly statement, shaking her head and pushing the truck door shut. Just as he had the prior day, Seth waited in the driveway until Hayden had entered the house and the front door was closed. As he pulled out, he began to toss around nicknames that he could use for Hayden in his head.

That night at Hayden's dinner table, things were awkwardly quiet. Hayden uncomfortably shifted and fidgeted in her seat, swinging her legs back and forth as she picked at her food. Her mother cleared her throat, gently placing her fork on the edge of her plate. "Will Seth be giving you another ride to school tomorrow?" This caught Rick's attention slightly, though he only glanced up at them once before returning to his food. Hayden nodded, a faint smile forming on her mother's lips as she did so. There was no conversation for the rest of dinner, Hayden silently picking up the plates and placing them in the sink before ascending up the wooden stairs to her bedroom.

Multiple dreams filled Hayden's sleep that night, howling wolves and deep chocolate eyes watching over her protectively.

The next morning, Hayden repeated the same routine that she had followed the prior day; picking out clothes, applying makeup, and straightening her long blonde hair. Her loose white top hung gracefully on her burgundy jeans which were tucked into her floral boots. She smiled in the mirror before going downstairs where she knew Rick would be waiting with some kind of food as a silent peace offering.

Seth pulled in exactly on time, Hayden rushing down the steps to his truck. This morning, though, it was only the two of them in the truck. Seth's ever-present smile was there, greeting Hayden warmly. _"he's like my own personal sunlight."_ Hayden thought, a smile forming on her lips instantaneously. Seth fidgeted slightly as he began the drive, something obviously on his mind.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Hayden raised an eyebrow at him, snapping him out of his trance. He lightly grinned at her as he pulled into the parking lot. This morning, Hayden didn't leap out, though. She stayed and waited for Seth's reply, unbuckling so that she could shift in her seat to face him. "I, I don't know how to ask this." Seth stuttered, fumbling over his own words. "I wanted to know if you'd like to, to, to go to a little diner after school. And if you can't, that's perfectly fine! Another time would be okay, too." He sped up his speaking nervously, receiving a light grin from Hayden as she nodded. "I'd love to go today."

Those five words lit a spark in Seth's heart as his happiness radiated off of him, a breathtaking smile on his young face. "Come on, bud. Don't want to be late for class." Hayden winked at him as she hopped out of the truck, beginning down the sidewalk towards the front entrance. Seth followed closely behind, making sure to keep her in sight until she entered her classroom. He resented the looks of interest and intrigue coming from the guys in the hallways as Hayden walked through. He was well aware that she was basically perfect in the standards of the male species, that didn't matter to him though; he knew she was perfect in every aspect.

The day passed agonizingly slowly for Seth as Hayden occupied his mind without falter. She was like a drug to him, her face engraved in his subconscious. When lunch finally came, he could feel the anxiety building up. He watched the cafeteria doors religiously, waiting for her small figure to walk through them. After a few more minutes passed, the short blonde appeared, Seth's heart race increasing. He bounded towards her, Hayden faintly grinning at him as he reached her.

"How's your day been?" Seth quickly asked, walking with Hayden through the lunch line, watching her the whole way. She shrugged, grabbing an apple. "Normal." Seth wasn't pleased with the vagueness of her answer, remaining silent until they got out of the line. As they approached the table, Seth smiled as he pulled out Hayden's seat for her, earning an "Aw" from Katherine. Paul looked at her, smiling lovingly before returning to his lunch. Katherine blushed bashfully, looking down quickly. Hayden smiled at them before taking her seat beside Seth and Selene. Selene greeted Hayden with a smile, chirping a friendly "hello." Hayden nodded in return, taking a bite out of her apple.

"So Hayden," Jared began, a devilish grin playing on his lips. She looked up, cocking an eyebrow, "What?" Jared smirked, Seth's eyes snapping towards him in warning. "There's the homecoming dance coming up, who're you going to go with?" Everyone's attention then fell on Hayden as she tilted her head slightly to the right.

Seth groaned and placed his face in his hands, bursts of laughter erupting from his pack brothers. Katherine and Kim looked at him sympathetically, Selene joining the boys laughing. Hayden remained utterly confused, looking to anyone for an explanation. After a moment Katherine caught her gaze and shrugged, pursing her lips, "Just let them go, they'll get tired soon." Hayden nodded in response and returned to her apple.

The bell soon rang and Hayden sprang to her feet, exiting the cafeteria quickly.


End file.
